I Wish
by RaiLei
Summary: Now living as a Princess, Rapunzel finds herself missing her freedom. With Flynn away on business and Rapunzel left alone with her overprotective parents, she wishes for an adventure as a star falls from the sky.


A year had passed since Rapunzel had escaped her lonely tower.

The tower still remained, hidden within the forest, remembered only by a handful of people.

The townspeople of Corona were glad to have their lost Princess back, the story of her sudden reappearance spread like wildfire, much like the stories of how she had returned. Her parents had addressed the public, saying that Rapunzel had indeed been kidnapped by a witch as a child and raised as her own – and of course that the yearly Lantern Festival helped guide her home.

She had been so happy to have her family back together; her parents slowly coming around to Flynn Rider – considering the security camera's had caught him stealing the Royal Crown the day before.

But . . . Rapunzel missed her freedom.

She was used to living alone, Mother Gothel having left the pre-teen alone for weeks at a time.

She was used to having do all the cooking and cleaning herself, and eating whatever and whenever she felt like it. _"A Princess does not cook or clean – that's why we have staff, dear,"_ her mother had said, finding Rapunzel in the kitchen early one morning, the radio playing lowly behind her, a stack of dishes and supplies covering the countertop. _"We have some important lessons to go over. If you're hungry, simply let the staff know what you want to eat_."

Instead, she got lessons on the history of Corona, ballroom dancing, and proper etiquette.

In a way, she missed the creativity she had when locked up in the tower; Mother Gothel usually brought her fabric from far off countries, allowing Rapunzel to create her own outfits. She could paint the walls whatever colour she liked, the walls filled with various designs. She grinned inwardly, when her parents realized she had painted an intricate design above her bed – they hadn't quite known how to respond when they found her; elbow deep in paint, splatters all over her new clothes as she happily showed them her new project.

Pascal was always nearby, the green chameleon the only reminder she had of her old life. Some days, while daydreaming in her daily lessons, she wished she hadn't realized she was the lost princess.

Flynn had left two-weeks ago, heading across the ocean to Arendelle; she had wanted to go as well. The name had stuck out to her, weren't they distantly related to someone there? She shrugged it off though, it had probably been mentioned in one of her family history lessons that she had dreamt through. When she had informed her parents she was going to Arendelle too, her parents quickly reminded her of the sixteen years' worth of lessons she had to catch up on. Instead, she had to see Flynn off at the docks, grumbling under her breath about how _unfair_ it was.

She wanted an adventure; she wanted to see the world.

When she wondered _'When will my life begin?'_ she hadn't pictured trading in her secluded tower for a permanent stay inside a walled up Castle.

But, what she didn't know was her wish was right around the corner.

It all happened one night the star was filled with stars.

Rapunzel had just gotten off the phone with Flynn _("A bit too cold for me, you know?" Flynn had said, when asked about the place. "You'd love it here blondie, you and Princess Anna have quite a bit in common.")_ who was leaving in the morning.

"What do you think, Pascal?" Rapunzel asked, throwing open the doors to her balcony, a frown on her features. "Do you think mom will let me go next time?" After losing her daughter as an infant, it was no surprise the Queen hadn't wanted her only daughter out of her sight for long.

Pascal glanced up at her, scurrying down her arm and onto the ledge, glancing from her to the town and forest stretched out underneath the balcony. Rapunzel let out a laugh, running a hand through her short brown hair as she leaned against the ledge, looking out at the forest she'd travelled through with Flynn. "I know Pascal, I know . . ." Rapunzel trailed off, smiling slightly.

How long had it been since she'd seen the ruffians from the Ugly Duckling? She grinned, remembering the look on her parent's face when they had shown up for her coronation in the square.

Then, it all happened very fast.

A shooting star caught Rapunzel's eye as it fell over the sleeping city of Corona – _I wish something exciting would happen_ – she thought briefly, eyes closed.

However, instead of disappearing into the dark night, the star seemed to hurtle towards them, a loud crash issuing from the surrounding forest. "What was that?" Rapunzel called, turning in the direction of the crash, her hands gripping the ledge tight as she tried to peer through the darkness. Then, there was a low rumble, which grew in intensity, making Rapunzel reach for Pascal, the force of the crash having created a slight earthquake. "What . . .?"

The sound of the crash, or the slight earthquake afterwards, seemed to have woken some of the townspeople, the odd window lighting up as people turned on lights. Rapunzel shook her head, glancing away from the town underneath her window, squinting her eyes into the darkness. "There's no way that was a star . . ." she mumbled, placing Pascal on her shoulder. "I wonder what it was?" Rapunzel mused, grinning at Pascal, her eyes alight with the prospect of adventure.

The Ugly Duckling was nestled deep in the Corona forest, all she had to do was find a way outside the castle gates before her parents arrived outside her room, sweeping her back into her room to be _safe_.

 _I'm not a damsel-in-distress_ , Rapunzel thought to herself, quickly spinning on her heel, closing the balcony doors haphazardly behind her. "We're going on an adventure Pascal," she mumbled, throwing open her bedroom door, idly wondering what her parents would think in the morning when the staff found her room empty, their daughter having disappeared into the night once again. Her bare feet hitting the hardwood floors with every hurried step, glancing over her shoulder every now and then, it would just be her luck to have a guard come around the corner on patrol.

"Flynn will know where to find us . . ." Hadn't she mentioned the Ugly Duckling a few weeks ago? "We just need to stop into the kitchen before we leave, hopefully the kitchen staff aren't there yet . . ." She wasn't leaving without her frying pan – it had come in handy on her journey to see the _floating lights_.

Her parents might have lost her as a child, but they needed to realize she wasn't that little girl anymore.

She had grown up without them and learned how to survive on her own.

She had found her way home with the help of _criminals and ruffians_ , alongside the floating lanterns, taking down both Mother Gothel and indirectly resulting in the Stabbington brothers finally being caught by the authorities.

Rapunzel wasn't just _a delicate flower_ ; armed with her frying pan, she could take on anything.

And with that, Rapunzel set out for the forests of Corona, the safety of the Castle behind her.

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A/N

Tangled is one of my favourite (new) Disney movies and I was really excited when I saw Rapunzel's tower in the new E3 trailer! I would love to see Rapunzel taking out the Heartless with her frying pan, and personally, I hope that she's Sora's in-World companion instead of Flynn.


End file.
